The demon waited for sunrise. It had lost track of time, falling into a sleepless stupor until jolted back into consciousness by a sound, a scent, or the surging pain pervading its entire body. The cycle repeated until the small cracks between the boards of the hut started to leak light. Birds sang somewhere beyond the confines of his shelter.
'Where is that wench.' He waited impatiently.
His clawed fingers caressed her haori, which served as a makeshift blanket. Her scent enveloped him in his dreamless darkness, offering unwanted comfort.
He understood he was suffering from some sort of memory loss. He couldn't recall anything of his life prior to waking to her tears.
Nevertheless, he understood the basic facts of life. Fire burned, water was wet, winter brought snow, and day followed night. About himself, he knew little. Vague feelings clung to him. He had no family. He was aloof. He was a warrior, a fighter. Powerful.
He was certain he had been injured in a great battle. And that he was a demon. The girl was human. She was a maiden, not his lover – even though she acted like one. Perhaps they had been involved romantically, a connection that might have progressed physically had he not been injured.
The notion was repugnant, causing him to shudder. What self-respecting demon lord would degrade themselves with beings of lower standing? Preposterous, he scoffed.
'But what is taking her so long?'
Kagome spent her night grappling with the same unease as Inuyasha.
His eyes haunted her still—those lifeless, empty red voids.
But it was still him. Inuyasha. It had to be. He was hurt, teetering on the brink of life. It was not the first time his demon side had surfaced before to save him. A protective instinct. But once he was safe, he'd return to his senses. Like he always had, she reassured herself.
'I'll save him. I have to.' Kagome resolved and waited until it was light enough for her to begin her day.
Kagome was gathering supplies for Inuyasha, like a new futon, more medicine, and clothing. Kaede expressed her concerns about Kagome's efforts. Without stating it directly, she implied that her endeavors might be futile. What the older woman had seen in the young man seemed irreparable.
Kagome dismissed her, asserting that Inuyasha had made no attempt to harm her. He wasn't dangerous. He wasn't harmful.
Kaede sighed, knowing she couldn't change the young woman's mind.
"Allow me to bring him some water while you gather the remaining supplies on your list." She offered. An outwardly friendly gesture, but in truth, the elder wanted to see him for herself and reassess his situation.
"Of course." Kagome replied, flashing a grateful smile.
Kaede entered the hut without announcing herself. As she slid the door aside, a nauseating, overpowering stench nearly knocked her off her feet. The air was thick with the smell of blood. It reminded her of her youth when she had spent days in hospices caring for young men wounded in war.
She gathered her courage and stepped into the room.
It took her a moment to adjust her eyes to the dimness. In the corner of the room, two red orbs glistened. The eyes of a beast. No, not a beast. These eyes brimmed with malice, unlike the innocent gaze of an animal. These eyes harbored nothing but a desire for death and destruction for whoever dared invade its lair. A profound unease took hold of her.
"Inuyasha?" She ventured carefully.
Her call was answered by a guttural, deep growl that rumbled through the air.
"Do not fret... I only came to bring you some water." She attempted to reassure, but the imminent threat of violence kept her at the doorway.
This creature was inhuman. Dangerous and sinister.
Unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere any longer, Kaede turned on her heels, taking the flask of water with her. Her survival instincts prevailed.
She could not aid Kagome in helping her charge, or rather the bedlamite. How the creature had refrained from attacking Kagome was beyond Kaede's comprehension. If there was a shred of humanity buried within Inuyasha, it was indeed deeply hidden and seemingly reserved for Kagome alone.
Several days passed. The beast permitted no one else near it, save for Kagome, whose scent had become familiar, even comforting, to its great disdain. Even as Kagome cleaned its wounds and changed the bandages of the seemingly weak and sickly man, she was aware that one swipe of his claws could kill her instantly. He could never be caught off guard.
Most of all, she was deeply haunted by his unfeeling eyes.
On another late evening, Kagome dabbed away the beads of fever from his forehead. She had tried to deny it, had attempted to not see it, to convince herself that the feeling of unfamiliarity was merely due to his ailing state. But as she sat next to Inuyasha's futon during the last hour of daylight, she could no longer deny the inhumanity in his daunting red eyes, which calmly, cruelly, observed her.
He had not spoken a word to her. He drank and ate, usually complied when she requested him to shift position to clean and tend to his wound. But that was it. He didn't smile, he didn't complain. Not a trace of compassion touched his features. No emotion leaked from the stoic mask he wore on his face.
But he had been like this before. She had brought him back then. She still loved him, and she believed she could convey that same love to him again. She looked at him, into the eyes that continuously watched her. She was sure that the only reason he hadn't died after Naraku's attack was because of her. He clung to his earthly shell, because of her. He loved her enough to linger to the tender thread of his life.
She moistened his lips with a damp cloth and tentatively brushed her thumb across his bottom lip. His skin and lips had regained some of their natural color, and he no longer resembled a living corpse. He was making progress, she reassured herself.
The demon narrowed his eyes. Her caressing finger scorched him. The demon loathed every touch she graced him with. It was humiliating for him to lay still and be petted like a pathetic pet puppy. He tightened his lips into a thin line. He wanted to punish the mortal for her audacity. Had he had any more strength, he would have slashed her, to put her in her place. A demon lord was not a plush toy.
And he absolutely detested how her hands felt soothing, so soothing they could lull him to sleep. He was furious with how every touch made him yearn for more. He wanted more of her fingers, her palms, tracing along his face and body. He almost wanted to whimper when she pulled her hand away from his skin.
He glared at her angrily. How dare she touch him. How dare she stop touching him.
The young woman was blissfully unaware of the inner turmoil of the demon as she grappled with her own.
She had cared for him for almost a week now, and although his physical condition had slightly improved, his mental state remained as isolated from the rest of the world as it had been since he woke up.
Inuyasha seemed wrapped within himself.
This was the moment Kagome decided to risk it all, to lay all her cards on the table.
The young human girl knelt next to the demon's bed. It eyed her with indifference tinged with a hint of curiosity. Kagome placed her hand on his cheek, but the demon remained unmoved. His eyes never left hers as she leaned in. Kagome gathered her courage and pressed her lips against the demon's. She trembled. Her soft lips enveloped his, but the demon remained still. Her lips lingered on his, but the demon gave no response. Kagome slowly withdrew from him and looked into the half-demon's cold, dark eyes. The girl swallowed a painful lump in her throat. She stumbled backward, rejection hitting her like a smite from the heavens.
She had tried to nurse him, to help him. She had stayed awake by his bedside even when utterly exhausted herself. She had defended him against all those who doubted him. And most of all, she had never stopped loving him. She loved him so much it hurt. But he reciprocated none of her kind efforts. Spoke no words. It was as if he didn't even know who she was. Had she become as alien to him as he had become to her?
Kagome scrambled up and ran out of the hut, not looking back, leaving the door half-open. She nearly tripped, her vision blurred by tears as she rushed past the huts adjacent to Inuyasha's. She ran all the way to the edge of the forest, slumping down to weep heartbrokenly. It was the first time she cried over the possibility of losing Inuyasha.
After Kagome had left, the demon remained still, staring at the ceiling. A convulsion racked his form. His entire body felt like it was on fire, his blood thick and boiling like tar. He weakly reached out to touch his lips. How unbearably soft hers had been.
"Ka-go-me..."